Cox Capital Mgt LLC Grows Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Cox Capital Mgt LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,741 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals accounts for approximately 2.1% of Cox Capital Mgt LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Cox Capital Mgt LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 10,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of APD traded up $2.05 on Friday, hitting $316.66. 775,755 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,631,480. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $323.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $284.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.55.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.35%.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.